Auction houses are more creative than ever. Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s are striving to gain momentum in a challenging market. Sotheby’s auction room was packed last week, thanks to a number of exciting lots, including Crude Oil (Vettriano) (2005), a hand-painted Banksy canvas.
Unlike previous Banksy auctions, this time there was no major spectacle—the painting left the room intact after selling for £4.2 million to an online bidder, surpassing its estimated £3 million price. However, this sum still pales in comparison to similar works by the artist sold in recent years, such as Sunflowers from Petrol Station (2005), which fetched £10.7 million, and Show Me the Monet (2005), which sold for £7.5 million.
In recent weeks, the main star was not Banksy but Japanese painter Yoshitomo Nara, whose Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) (2005) stirred excitement. After a ten-minute bidding war, the painting went to Alex Branczik’s phone bidder for £9 million—the highest price among the contemporary offerings at both auctions.
Another highlight of the evening was a six-round bidding war for After Embah (2018) by London-based painter Lisa Brice, featuring the silhouette of Nicki Minaj from Anaconda. A similar work set the artist’s record in 2021 at $3.17 million. The final bid went to Lisa Dennison’s buyer, setting a new record for Brice at £5.4 million.
Christie’s auctions yielded more modest results. A Jenny Saville painting sold below its estimated price but still landed in the mid-range at £982,800, while a David Hockney piece fetched £819,000. A Bridget Riley work met its estimated value at £1.3 million, while pieces by Gerhard Richter, Cecily Brown, Antony Gormley, and a Warhol-Basquiat-Clemente collaboration saw varying success within their estimated price ranges. The evening’s highlight, a Francis Bacon portrait, sold for £6.6 million, while a Vasily Kandinsky piece went for £2.2 million, doubling its £1 million estimate. Another surprise success was a Michael Andrews canvas, which, like the Russian master’s work, doubled the British painter’s auction record, reaching £6 million.